Crimson Memories
by timeobserver1997
Summary: [Post-Wraith; Pre-Rebellion] Time marches on; and past has been rewritten...several times, but even in a new world, a new timeline, the memories of the past continues to haunt, and eventually, it rears its ugly head. The old ones are coming back, thirstier than ever. Kyoko's story. Cover: Deer by David Lynch (2017)
1. Prologue: Kakusei

**△Crimson Memories△**

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All characters belong to their respective owners; Gen Urobuchi, Hanokage, Kuroe Mura; this story will attempt to align with canon as much as possible but exceptions may appear. Names, characters, businesses, places, **events** and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a **fictitious manner**. Any resemblance to **actual** persons, living or **dead** , or **actual events** is purely coincidental.

Cover Art: "Deer" by David Lynch; Twin Peaks Season 3

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 _"We are like the spider. We weave our life and then move along in it. We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream. This is true for the entire universe." - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad_

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 **PROLOGUE:**

 ** _覚醒_**

 ** _Kakusei_**

* * *

 **Coneconam** **Air Force Base, West Massachusetts**

1:30:01

1:30:02

1:30:03….

* _Brrrrrt*_

 _*Brrrrrt*_

 _*Brrrrt*_

The ringing vibrated through the empty compound and into the blackness that permeated his vision. Brian knew something happened to him.

 _Uhhhhhhhhggggg….._

He rolled over, the side of his head throbbed with pain, he touched his head, and there was a little blood. The last thing he remembered was running away, from something. Owen was behind him, catching up. He couldn't remember if he slammed against a wall, or if something hit him, but he was not there. This was a different room, and Owen was not around.

He grabbed the phone. Someone was calling him, but it is not someone on his contacts. There was 66% battery left; he had enough time to get by. He answered the phone.

"He…hello?" he muttered.

"What the hell are you doing?!" a girl exclaimed. Brian recoiled.

"Who…who is this?" he asked. He felt slow, and his head continued to throb, "Who the hell is this? How do you know my number?"

"You'll need to get out of there, and fast. This place is dangerous. My name is Naomi, that's all you need to know. There's a pistol by the door. I left it for you. If you see anything that moves, shoot it once and get the hell out of there. Make as little noise as possible. I'll explain the rest later. Go."

Naomi hanged up.

Brian struggled to get up, and staggered his way towards the doorway. Naomi was right, there was a pistol propped by a wall, and with it, 2 magazine clips. He grabbed the pistol and shoved the clips in his pocket. He looked back towards the shattered windows of the room. The air base was abandoned 40 years ago, and there was a clear sign of overgrowth. Dirt and grime was scattered all over the cement floor, and the roots and shrubs was taking over the ledges, but the shine of the moonlight glimmered through. That was Brian's plan. Go urban exploring on a full moon, and in case if something happened, a clear sky can lead the way out.

Brian stepped into the halls. The moonlight gleamed and emerged out of the several rooms that lined the halls. They were once part of the administrative part of the air base, and aside from the spartan layout and dull colors of the building; it looked like it was once a decent place.

He crept his way slowly, but something felt different. The floor was wet. He looked down. A dark, sticky liquid streaked the floor and there was that smell of iron. The pistol had an attached flashlight to it, so Brian turned it on. His heart dropped; it looked like blood.

He broke a sweat.

" _Owen?_ " he whispered.

" _Owen?_ "

" _Owen!_ "

Everything told him to run away. _Get the fuck out of there!_ his body seemed to say. Even Naomi said that, but he had to get Owen. It just felt wrong to leave him there. He knows the rules of every horror movie in the book, but it was just wrong.

He walked towards the direction of the streaks. Another noise echoed in the distance. It sounded wet. There was thumping, and thuds.

Halfway through the hall, there was an old Exit sign. The lights went out a long time ago, and a heavy rusted door that was left open. It led down to a set of stairs. The noises were much louder.

Brian couldn't say anything. Someone might hear him…or something. He walked down the stairs, one step at a time. He took a turn at the end; the room was pitch black. He turned the pistol flashlight on.

"Oh fuck…"

The room was empty and the concrete walls were cracked from age. But five meters away from him… there was Owen, and a pale figure on top of him. The streaks of blood led to Owen's neck, or what was left of it. The figure was gazing towards the wall, as if it had noticed something different. It continued its chewing noise. What haunted Brian the most was Owen's eyes, open and staring blankly at the ceiling, and his mouth open from pain, blood dribbling out.

The figure turned its head towards Brian. It was white and even when kneeling, it looked tall. It had robes and looked like a mummy, with its shrunken eye sockets. But its head looked incomplete, like it was pixelated, as if it does not look real. Blood streaked its skeletal mouth, shriveled up into a grin. It was uncanny, as if it didn't belong here on Earth.

Brian's body froze in fear but his hands did the acting. He cocked the gun and aimed right at its body. The creature turned and lunged, but two bullets struck it, once in the neck and once in the eye. It recoiled and shrieked. Brian fired two more shots. With each bullet, a light gleamed out of its body. The fourth bullet struck its heart and then it disintegrated with a burst of light.

Brian fell back from the shock and the recoil. He dropped the pistol, which clattered, its flashlight gleaming on Owen's mutilated body.

"No…" he muttered. "What the fuck? What the fuck?"

The phone rang again.

He picked it up.

"I heard gunshots. Are you okay?"

It was Naomi.

"Owen…my friend…he's dead. What was that thing? What was that monster?"

"You saw it?"

"It killed him. It's white, but it didn't look real…the texture…what the fuck? What is it?"

Naomi swore.

"Didn't think they would become that visible…did you see anything fall out of it? If you see it, I'm going to need it."

Brian was silent.

"Hello?" Naomi called out.

He stood up from where he sat and picked up the pistol. He couldn't deal with seeing the remains of his friend, but he persisted, and pointed the pistol beyond the body. The floor like any other was covered with dirt, but behind Owen's body was a dark cube. Like a dice but with some etchings. Brian walked around the body and picked it up, and bolted back up the stairs.

"I got it. It looks like a black die."

"I am going to need that. It's going to help me out. I really appreciate it. But you need to get out of there now, and I am serious. I counted 4 shots, so you have 6 left. Be sure to use it wisely. There's people out there who does not you to see what you saw, and they are gonna come for you."

"What people?" Brian asked just as he saw a flashlight shine in his direction by one of the shattered windows. He kneeled down as he quickly saw it.

" _Fuck! They're here!"_ he whispered loudly on the phone.

"Dammit! They've caught on. I'm going to distract them. Go! Hurry!"

Brian crawled his way past the room he woke up in. The opened windows had some glass remnants so he remained careful to avoid contacting the areas. He heard more gunshots in the distance; he also saw some flashes, followed by scattered shouts and the noise of metal clashing against metal. It sounded like a group of girls, but that didn't change the fact that they were here for him.

He stood up and scampered out the nearest exit away from the source of commotion. He darted out of the administration building and around the old barracks and two large satellite dishes that sat near the woods. His car was parked there against the driveway. A motor scooter and two cars were parked alongside his car. They were never there before. He grabbed the keys in his pocket and slid into the car. He turned on the ignition, and with a quick U-turn, sped out into the main road, knocking over the scooter.

The air base (for good reason) was located in the outskirts of town. Several state forests were within the area, Tolland was one of them. The trees seemed to rush by, and the only noise, the only sign of life was the roaring of the car. The reflection of the lights from the signs seemed to be the only source of illumination. The speed limit was 30, but he went a good 20 miles faster. He wanted to get out. _This wasn't happening,_ he thought, _this is not real._

The image of Owen's mutilated body was seared into his head, and that thing…that monster… it looked different, not some junkie who took a good dose of PCP, it was not a zombie either. It felt unnatural, and that was what scared him the most.

The phone rumbled again, and Brian switched it on speaker.

"Do you have it?" Naomi asked.

"The cube? Yeah, I got it, tell me, what the hell did I just see? Tell me everything…NOW!"

"That thing you saw, that's called a wraith, and the cube, it's something I use to make sure that thing does not come back. I didn't they can become physical."

"What hell are you even talking about? I saw my friend's neck ripped out!" Brian said, shaking.

"Demons do exist, and you killed it."

"Well…that explains jackshit."

"I don't expect you to understand, but I expect you to follow my lead. This is something you weren't meant to see, and there are others out there who want to keep this from being seen."

"So…what now? What am I supposed to do, call the cops?"

"Report your friend missing, but first, go to any public space, any Starbucks, or even a Wal-Mart will suffice. Call me then, I'll come. I've seen your car, I'll recognize you then."

"How can I trust you?"

"I dragged you out before the others came. I'm sorry about your friend, I couldn't find him. I could've easily killed you if I was one of _them_. Remember, find someplace safe and call me."

Naomi hung up.

"That's just great." Brian muttered, slamming his hand in frustration on the steering wheel.

The darkness of the woods did not help. The moonlight and the headlights were the only source of illumination, but made the tree branches more menacing.

 _Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….._

A light peaked out in the rear view mirror, followed by the distant sound of a motorcycle. The light should bring comfort to him, but it did the opposite. Breaking into a sweat, Brian pressed on the gas.

The motorcycle gained ground and slowly caught up with him. Brian pressed on. The motorcyclist came into view. It was a young woman, face obscured by a helmet, but her outfit was strange. It was a dress, but it was strangely old-fashioned, or the type seen at a convention. She had a long object in her hand.

Brian barely had time before he heard a loud _THUD!_

Before he knew it, the car seemed to be off the ground. He sailed into the air, and then he crashed down.

 _THUD! CRASH! BANG! SCREECH!_

Shattered glass came flying to his face, and the last thing he remembered was the last bang, and an airbag popping out right at his face.

Brian woke up, his face hurt, his entire body sore. He felt blood streaming down his face. He saw the distant glow of a flame flickering on the back of his car. Without a word, his hand stumbled upon the seatbelt, and quietly, he ejected himself.

 _Get out. Get out. Get out,_ he thought.

He dropped down head first into what was the roof of the car. He was upside down. The glass around the windows was completely shattered, but there was enough room to crawl out. He then dragged himself out of the window. The flame on the car only grew brighter.

He did not feel the glass shards. The adrenaline kicking in, he dragged himself out.

In the distance, beyond the flame were a group of figures. He could only count 5 women, or were they girls? He wasn't so sure. They too were dressed strangely. He didn't care at this point; he stood up and continued limping his way from the women.

 _BANG!_

A gunshot echoed, and Brian collapsed, pain rushing from his leg. He cried out, and looked down, his legs mangled and marred by bullet holes.

 _NO! NO! NO! NO!_ he mustered out, but hoarsely and quietly.

He kept on dragging himself. He knew he would pass out from blood loss soon, but that did not stop him.

One of the figures slowly walked in his direction, shotgun in hand. He rolled forth, and grabbing the pistol, he fired a few shots.

 _POP! POP! POP! POP!_

The first three missed, but the forth made its mark. The woman collapsed, yelping in pain.

"Fuck!" she shouted.

Brian fired back more shots.

 _POP! POP! Click! Click! Click!_

He ran out of bullets. He unloaded the used magazine and replaced it with a new one. One of the figures tended to the woman with the shotgun, as the rest converged on him. His vision started to blur, as one of them stepped on his arm. He could not shoot anymore.

He gazed at the sky and saw the faces of the figures that caught him. They were beautiful and strange and they too carried strange weapons, but he saw their cold stares, as though they were finishing a job they did not want to do.

Tears streaming out, he could only muster. "Don't. Please… I won't tell anybody."

"I'm sorry," a younger girl in the group replied, with a tear in her eye. Another girl grabbed an item in her back, but it was not her main weapon. It was small pistol, with a silencer.

She pointed it at Brian's forehead and pulled the trigger.


	2. 1: Tunnel

Reviews Very Much Appreciated

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 ** _CHAPTER 1: Tunnel_**

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 _We create our world, and then enter into that world. We live in the world that we have created. –The Upanishads_

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 _ **KAZAMINO CITY**_

It was Mami who brought the group together. Kyoko was one of the other prominent mahou shojo in the area, and thus came into occasional conflict, but in the end, she joined what Mami called a "coalition", a new calling. Homura came in soon after, and then Sayaka. Each of them had different lives, but they found themselves intertwined together, like was meant to happen. Sayaka was a tough one, and unlike the others, she did not last as long. The relationship with Kyosuke did not pan out, and brought out another side to her, a more self-destructive side. But to the end, she sacrificed herself to save the team from the wraith at the train station, and with the Law of Cycles, perhaps finding an inner peace in the process.

It was hard to believe how much time has flown by. Three months…six months… time kept marching on.

Mami sought to grow the team a little more, though it was hard to find other girls who were interested in being a part of something bigger. It was Oriko Mikuni who joined in. Mami and Oriko met during a prefectural political summit at the end of the previous school year. As far as Kyoko knew, they mostly talked about economics and politics and became friends after. She made it one step closer to building up and streamlining their duties as mahou shoujo.

They were as close to family as Kyoko got, and with time, she embraced her time with her new family. It was the first time she felt meaning in her life. She settled with Mami and eventually enrolled in school. Math and sciences were rough, but she had a good hold on English thanks to years of Bible studies with her father a long time ago. She mentioned what happened once with Mami, but preferred to move on from it.

Kazamino City…that's where it all happened; the ruined church brought back memories of that day. She thought of Momo often whenever she was around. It turned out there was a flurry of wraiths around the area today.

"I can't imagine how hard it is to get over that place," Mami told her. "We can handle it if it is too much for you…"

"Best thing I can do for my family for now is to clean up the place," Kyoko replied. "It was my place, and it will remain my place."

The wraiths were smaller, but they were numerous, and surprisingly powerful. Oriko planned out where to advance, with Homura and Mami blasting their way around and flanking the horde. Kyoko however, took them head on, thanks to the spear and Oriko's orbs. Mami wrapped it up with a _Tiro Finale,_ which blasted the last 10 wraiths to bits. Now quiet, Kyoko found a sense of solace. She wanted to move on, but it did not hurt to tend after the place. Despite her hardships, she still had memories that meant a lot to her. Like her father, she was tending the church, even in its abandoned state.

"It looks like we got everything now," Oriko said as she picked up the last of the grief cubes. "You ready to go, Kyoko?"

Kyoko looked back at the church. It was a full moon tonight, and the light illuminated the now bare windows, formerly installed with stained glass.

 _It looked a little better than last time,_ Kyoko thought.

"I'm good now." She answered back.

Homura and Mami straightened their uniforms and dusted themselves off.

 _See ya around sis_.

 _ **MITAKIHARA CITY**_

A quarter moon shimmered in the sky, but its glow outshined by the city skyline. The air felt crisp and there was no sign of any negative aura. The Kazamino job should make Rina's* job much easier.

"Dammit!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"What is it?" Homura asked.

"That trig homework. I'm haven't finished it yet."

"I wouldn't worry much," Mami said, "We got the job done early, I expect it shouldn't take too long."

"Easy for you to say." Kyoko snickered. "I still don't understand the tangents and cotangents."

Oriko remained quiet. The four girls kept on walking. They had to cut through the city park to get back to Mami and Homura's apartments, but with the mild weather, it was one of the last opportunities to enjoy the warmth before fall comes fully swinging in.

"I'm hungry." Kyoko muttered, "And I need something with caffeine."

"There's a new coffee shop by the park. I heard it's gotten good reviews." Oriko answered. "Good chance to check it out."

 _ **MITAKIHARA CITY PARK**_

"You remember that weird wraith we fought the other day?" Oriko asked.

"The haniwa**? I remember, did something else happen to it?" Mami responded.

"I hated that one." Homura said, "The way it looks at you. Those empty eyes, they feel dead, like this endless void."

"Yeah, that one creeped me out, more so than many of the others." Kyoko said, shuddering as she took a sip of her latte and a bite of her donut.

"Turns out, not to close to where we fought it off, there was a kofun*** discovered there." Oriko said. "The city been excavating it over the past few weeks, not much has come out through the press releases, but I did see a few photos."

"It's weird that one of them took that form, but it makes sense." Homura commented.

"Makes you wonder what that dead person's life is like," Mami said, "It could easily be someone else more recent, but imagine holding that…negative energy there for over a thousand years…"

The crickets chirped within the shrubs. There was a serene atmosphere in the park, illuminated by the lampposts and the skyline of the city. The park was empty though; along the way, a pedestrian or two walked past the group, but aside from that, they had the entire expanse for themselves.

"Speaking of negative energy, there's that North Korean missile flew overhead Hokkaido." Mami said.

"I really don't get why people want to blow themselves up." Homura said, "It's like that other day in class for physics, we are not much. We're just a speck in the universe, a blue dot, in an endless sea of blackness."

"It's honestly surprising in general how we are that important too, ridding the universe of entropy. It's weird how small we are, yet we are doing something that big. It does not feel that big when you get used to it." Kyoko replied.

"Another thing bugs me though," Oriko replied. "We may have a UN and all, but the idea of splitting an atom and all that energy and entropy coming out, literally, how long will it take before something else comes out, something we may have never seen. It bugs me that when we are responsible for reducing entropy, higher quantities come out someplace else."

"No wonder why Kyubey likes us that much." Homura said coldly.

Mami stopped. The crickets' chirps gave way to silence.

"What?" Kyoko asked.

"You feel that?" Mami asked.

Oriko paused. "Another one, yeah I feel it."

In the distance, there was a tunnel that led back into the city, and back to Mami's and Homura's apartments. A figure in the distance, a girl, limped her way into the tunnel.

Kyoko squinted into the distance. "Mariko?"

"What?" Homura asked. "From class?"

"Fukunaga-san!" Mami called out.

Mariko kept on walking, ignoring Mami's call.

"I think another one is here. I don't want another person in our school dead or missing. Sayaka was more than enough as it is." Mami grunted.

Kyoko snarfed down the last of her donut and finished the rest of her coffee.

"I'll take care of this." She said.

 _Be careful._ Oriko's thoughts ran through her head.

 _Okay._ Kyoko thought back.

She dashed towards Mariko.

"Mariko!" Kyoko shouted out.

Mariko kept on limping.

"MARIKO!" Kyoko repeated, louder this time around.

Mariko kept on walking, and entered the tunnel.

Kyoko followed in her steps, walking into the tunnel. Normally the tunnel back to town was illuminated and the exit out on the back was a short distance away, but this time, it was pitch black.

Mariko walked into the darkness, eventually being completely enveloped by it.

Kyoko followed behind, her hand on her Soul gem, just as darkness enveloped her.

The sound of electricity rung in her ears.

* * *

*Oriko Magica: Sadness Prayer

**haniwa: clay burial figurines from the Kofun Period

***Kofun: burial mounds; very much like the mounds found in the Midwest US, like Cahokia.


	3. 2: Yume

**Reviews much appreciated.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2.**

 **夢**

 _ **Yume**_

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 _"...but, who is the dreamer?" – Monica Bellucci, Twin Peaks S3E14_

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 _ **UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; Radiation Beacon CLOVE**_ _ **R**_

 **(50 km N of Shanksville, PA)**

The evening air was awfully clammy today. There was a storm coming, some lightning, heavy showers. Unfortunately, the fuel cells inside were depleted, and he had to drive two and half hours from his place just to get this done, at this time of night.

 _Sorry Neil. You know you are the one of the few certified to handle this. You do understand that the administration takes every second of data out of this thing seriously._

Deep down, he knew this. It was his secondary job, which provided a nice bonus in addition to his usual income; about an extra $10k. And that was helpful considering he has been jumping from internship to different jobs in the physics field. Along the way, he has also come across opportunities that has allowed him to deal with the hardcore stuff. Experimental mini reactors, radiation energy, stuff that seems to be hyped whenever the Buzzfeed, Vox, or any media wants to report on futuristic hype. Honestly, it was the reason why Neil wanted in the field. The future was distant, and close.

Despite the long haul to get this one task done, the beacons fascinated him. They were ancient, Cold War relics, set up in the 1950s to 1970s, but they have been maintained periodically even when technology was no longer needed, yet the department was still interested. They were looking for a new kind of energy or radiation, something that had "popped up" in "areas of interest". Sigma is its unofficial name.

The fuel cell he periodically replaces is made of Cesium-137 and allegedly, something that also has some of that "sigma" energy. It was typical for him to go to a park 5 minutes out of town, where a girl named "Serena" would pass him a suitcase and would make him reiterate the beacon stations name as a sign of reassurance. He could recognize her anywhere. Red hair, boyish cut, distinct brown glasses.

"Clover. You got that?" she would say.

"Clover." He would repeat back.

"That's my guy." She would then respond with a wink, before driving off.

Aside from that, she would not say much aside from showing a card certifying that she is indeed from the DoE. Onetime, Neil tried to ask her where she got her fuel cells from, to which she would reply "The cesium is from the Department, the rest I got from _cleaning up._ "

He could tell by the way she said " _cleaning up"_ that it was not worth asking anything else. He there to do the job, get paid, and get back to his life.

Neil drove off into the hills, where there is a dirt path through the forest, that eventually led to an open field, where the beacon stood on the top of the hill. The fence around the beacon was new, but the sign: _RADIATION BEACON CLOVER_ , is almost corroded beyond recognition.

From what he knew, there were about 9 or 10 beacons sprinkled around the state. The Department of Energy has placed the most focus on _Clover_ and _Camilla. Camilla_ is located in the town of Centralia, site of a continuously burning underground coal mine. _Clover_ is another site of interest after it showed anomalous readings after 9/11, presumably because of United 93. The readings since then have been quiet but still is considered a site of interest.

Neil got out of the car. It started to drizzle. He took the suitcase out and started to walk up to the beacon. At the gate, he opened up the suitcase. Inside, there were two fuel cells, the size of soda cans, two sets of keys, and 5 blank 256 GB SD cards. The first key unlocked the gate, and second key unlocked the control panel. Neil got to work, starting with the fuel cells. He replaced the old ones, now depleted, as indicated a lack of "black gas" in a clear chamber located on the side of the cell. He then replaced the SD cards located beneath the fuel cell chamber, two of its five slots blinking from full memory.

That was it. Neil packed up the suitcase with the full SD cards and empty fuel cells.

 _That was easy. I could've easily done it tomorrow, but nope!_ He thought.

He then closed the gate and walked back to the car. The rain started to pick. The long drive back will be a bit of a bitch. He then drove back through into the woods.

The beacon stood in the distance, lit up by the distant cracks of lightning across the sky. But all of the sudden, a sensor on the beacon lit up a red glow and emitted a high-pitchedring. Something's happening, but the beacon's light and sound was muffled by the darkness and rain.

In the darkness, Kyoko has nothing but her thoughts. She had a dream last night about Sayaka. It was in the train station on the way to school. She was munching on some chips, and Sayaka was sitting next to her. It has been a few years since she passed, and though she had tried to move on, there she was, sitting besides her like nothing unusual happened.

Sayaka and Kyoko were talking about something, but she couldn't remember what. The dream felt vivid; in fact, it did not feel like a dream, it felt more like a memory.

Sayaka was looking to the ground, a few tears streaming down her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Kyoko asked.

Sayaka looked at her.

"I should be, but I am not," she said.

"What do you mean? I thought the Law of Cycles-"

"It's something else," she cried. "There's a part of me that is missing, I don't what. But its been eating at me."

"I don't understand." Kyoko said.

"Please," she said, "I don't know it either. Help me…"

She exploded into a ball of light, throwing Kyoko back several meters. Kyoko then woke up. That's how the dream ended, but it was starting to come back to her.

"Sayaka…" Kyoko muttered in thought as the darkness around her suddenly flickered into brightness. She found herself standing in a weird hallway, with a black and white mosaic wave pattern and the sides adorned with white curtains. There was no ceiling or sky, just whiteness up above. Kyoko looked behind her. There was no more tunnel, and she could not see the others anymore, the endless hallway took its place.

Kyoko walked forward.

"Kyubey?" she called out.

There was nothing.

"Mariko?"

Nothing. Rubbing her Soul Gem, she brought forth her magic gear.

"Okay," she said. "I'll just…keep going."

It was hard to say where she started off at as she walked on forwards. It felt like she was walking the length of her school, but she could have walked more or less than that; it was very disorienting.

Then she heard a sound, music in the air. She started to follow the source of the sound, the music grew louder and more legible. It was a song.

* _Only youuuu….can make all this world seem right…*_

 _*Onnnly youuuuu…. Can make the darkness bright…*_

Kyoko was not familiar with the song, but it sounded American*. She stopped and looked to her right. The music was coming from behind the curtains. She walked through and found herself in a bare room. In the middle, there was an old looking record-player. The song continued to play.

* _Only you (ahhhh), and you alone*_

 _*Can-an thrill me like you do*_

 _*And fill my heart with love for only you!*_

"What the hell is this place?" Kyoko asked out loud.

She walked up to the record player. The vinyl revolved and the song kept on playing.

Out of curiosity, Kyoko took the needle off the vinyl. The song stopped playing, and the room suddenly felt…different. She lifted her gaze from the record player. The room felt dimmer than before, and right ahead of her, behind the record player, a figure lay slumped by the curtain.

"Mariko?" Kyoko asked the figure as she walked around the record player towards the figure

"!" she gasped.

It was not Mariko, but a man. Feeling a surge of adrenaline, Kyoko summoned her spear and pointed it towards the man. She took a deep breath and examined the man. He has some kind of safety gear on, but there was a pool of dried blood by his side. He was dead.

He has been in the room for a while, but there was no sign of decay, and no stench. Kyoko inched closer, her spear in hand; the man did not move.

She looked down and noticed that he had a gun holster but there was no pistol. There was however, a sheet of paper sticking out of his shirt pocket. Kyoko poked him once with the spear and then kneeled down and took out the card, half expecting the man to spring out at her like a zombie. To her relief, there was no movement.

She stood up and took a couple of steps back from the body and examined the paper:

 ** _UNITED STATES OF AMERICA_**

 ** _DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE_**

 ** _Washington DC_**

 ** _Weinmann, Nathan Vernon_**

 ** _Date issued: 9 Feb, 1964_**

 _1964?_ Kyoko thought.

She looked at the photo on the paper and then back at Nathan's body. The paper showed a fair haired young man in his 20s, clean shaven. She looked at the body, the man looked young.

 _It is him alright._ Kyoko thought. All of a sudden, something clicked.

"Dammit! This is some time-bending realm. I better get out of here!" she muttered to herself as she dashed out of the room, her boots echoing across the room.

Kyoko got out into the hallway. She looked to her left; just an endless corridor. She looked to her right.

"MARIKO!?" Kyoko exclaimed. A girl with brown hair, shoulder length, jumped in surprise, and turned towards Kyoko.

 _KYA!_

Pistol in hand, she pointed it towards Kyoko's body, but with a slow breath of relief, she lowered her gun.

"Kyoko?"

She ran forth and hugged her.

"Thank god! I am so lost, I don't where we are, and I found that dead guy...and this pistol."

She started to sob.

"I just wanna go home."

Kyoko accepted the hug.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way back. We better hurry."

* * *

 ***"Only You" by the Platters (1955)**


End file.
